7 days to sign - support the petition for a coroner's inquest for Kevin Williams

We urge all members of the site to sign the following e-petition which calls for a Coroner's Inquest into the death of Kevin Williams at Hillsborough Stadium on April 15th, 1989.

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Kevin Daniel Williams born 27th May 1973 and died 15th April 1989 at the Hillsborough Football ground.

The inquest into Kevin Williams death began on the 2nd May 1990. An officer read out a summary to the court of all Kevin's movements on he day leading up to his death at Hillsborough.

The summary told of two police officers who had gone to the aid of Kevin (1) PC Bruder who saw Kevin convulsing and on examination found he had a pulse. (2) WPC Martin who resuscitated Kevin and found a pulse at 4:00pm, but was later pronounced dead at 4:06pm.

Next in the witness box was Dr. Slater the pathologist who had done Kevin's autopsy. He told the court that Kevin had died at 3:06pm of the worst kind of traumatic asphyxia (This was untrue, Kevin actually died of neck injuries).

The coroner wanted to introduce a 3:15pm cut off point when in his opinion everyone of the then 95 had died (Tony Bland died years later). In desperation the coroner decided on a plan to get the two witnesses Bruder and Martin to change their statements.

Evidence shows that on 3rd May (the in-between day) there was an arranged plan. The coroner wanted an Inspector Sawers to visit the witness Bruder and so issued a medical brief and his coroner office telephone number where he would have Dr. Slater lay in wait. Inspector Sawers would visit Mr. Bruder's home to mislead him using a ploy so to use the telephone, to ring the coroner office thereby allowing Dr. Slater access to the witness Bruder then pressure him to change his statement. To get Bruder to change his evidence then this would be used to discredit the witness Martin and put the 3:15pm cut off point back on track.

So when the inquest of Kevin resumed on 4th May 1990 the coroner had decided not to call the two witnesses Bruder and Martin. He denied the rights to Kevin's mother to learn of the last moments of her son's life. The coroner instead called the Inspector Sawers to "read out" Bruder's changed statement, and by reading out someone else's statement, he was able to add or omit words of his choosing, without fear of being cross-examined.

Inspector Sawers was able to commit perjury with impunity. Evidence of video footage was suppressed which was of an ambulance driving passed Bruder at the disaster scene when attending to Kevin, the video time sequence showed 15:36:22. As stated this was suppressed to allow Inspector Sawers to tell the court that only two ambulances had arrives at the scene (1) 15:15 and (2) 15:20. This suggested Mr. Bruder was mistaken about an ambulance at 3:37pm.

Sawers had actually shown a third ambulance to its driver Mr. Edwards some months before (21st October 1989) so he knew full well that there was a third ambulance at 15:36:22 but chose to keep quiet thus allowing the coroner to tell the jury "if Mr. Bruder was wrong about the ambulance then he is wrong about the pulse." Clearly the jury was misled because evidence now available shows the ambulance after the TV Cook report found the video footage in 1995, pity it was not found earlier for the inquests (police had suppressed it because it showed the time 15:36:22 which supported Bruder).

In the TV drama "Hillsborough" it portrayed Dr. Slater telephoning the witness Bruder to change his statement. This resulted in Dr. Slater complaining to the broadcasting commission and emphasized that he merely called the witness to arrange meeting in Sheffield. However, because of the release of documents appertaining to Hillsborough and the inquest via the Freedom of Information Act 2000, there is now evidence which shows that Dr. Slater had pressed the witness Bruder on medical issues whilst in the process of Inspector Sawers presence with Mr. Bruder - it all added to psychological pressure to Mr. Bruder so he would change his statement. There have never been any discussion of a meeting in Sheffield at all. Dr. Slater had lied just as he did at Kevin's inquest hearing.

As for the coroner it is now proven that he was party to this conspiracy and was clearly not impartial. Evidence now available shows that he had aided and abetted a criminal offence to have Dr. Slater a witness himself to challenge another witness' (Bruder) evidence so to fit in with his own version, then use his office as well as Inspector Sawers' in this enterprise. All to protect his 3:15pm cut off idea.

Not to call crucial witnesses like PC Bruder, WPC Martin, and ambulance-man Mr. Edwards, meant that Kevin William's inquest was empty. A public enquiry should investigate what went on more so, because further evidence shows that a senior officer who led West Midlands Police inquest team was Detective Superintendent Stanley Beechley, who was at that time under a criminal investigation conducted by West Yorkshire Police. Because of this Beechley's own chief constable Geoffrey Dear had place Beechley onto non-operational duties. The question is how this corrupt office became senior over the inquest team and become the coroner's right hand man. In 2004 the chief constable stated that "had he known Supt. Beechley was on Hillsborough, he would have taken him off." This being too late, the damage had been done.

Following the disaster there was an inquiry held by Mr. Justice Taylor who found that the South Yorkshire Police were at fault. In his decision he mentioned how people had meet their death and why:

(1) Police opening of Gate 'C' to allow thousands of people to rush in, without control of officers, causing crushing at 3:06.

(2) Failure of police to administer the major disaster plan until 3:55.

(3) Police cordon preventing some 40 ambulances from reaching the disaster scene with oxygen and expert medical help. People who dies could have lived.

(4) No safety certificate rendering the ground unsafe.

(5) Crush barriers corroded, some stuffed with old newspapers which later collapsed.

(6) Faulty turnstiles letting in more people to over capacity.

The inquest was a means of covering up the police failures The Taylor report was ignored by the coroner who not once mentioned and of the issues raised above (1 - 6).

The coroner was after an "accidental death' verdict and not an unlawful killing' one - and so ensuring that the jury was not given the facts as to how or why people had met their deaths. He introduced the 3:15pm cut off point and would not hear any evidence following 3:15pm. That's why he was able to hide from the jury the police cordon preventing medical help, the failure to implement the major disaster plan, the opening of gate 'C,' etc - all of this would constitute unlawful killing.

The coroner's role in using his officers as a means of manipulating witnesses to change statements, his association with the corrupt West Midlands Supt. Beechley (a man under criminal investigation at the time), his fraudulent concealment of evidence, condoning perjury to mislead the jury, irregularities of the inquest, suppression of evidence, etc. It was disgrace and an insult to the families who where at that time still in trauma and losing their loved ones.

Anne Williams fights on from the parlour of her own home and has taken her case to Europe and waits to find out whether it is admissible or not. She thanks everyone for all the support. He case in Europe is now it its second year.